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After 27 years, the Knicks are back in the NBA Finals, with a real shot to win a championship for the first time in 53 years.

Standing in New York’s way are the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-4 superstar Victor Wembanyama. Both teams have some familiarity with each other, as the Knicks defeated the Spurs in the NBA Cup championship game in December. 

The Spurs are coming off a highly competitive seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. New York has cruised through much of the playoffs, entering the Finals with an 11-game winning streak. 

As we’ve seen in the NBA, these opportunities don’t happen often. Last year’s NBA finalists, the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, did not repeat, continuing a recent trend of teams unable to get back to the finals. That adds more pressure for the Knicks and Spurs to make the most of the moment.

Let’s dive into three keys to the NBA Finals opener on Wednesday night in San Antonio...

Forcing turnovers

The Spurs are a young team, and from time to time, that youth shows up in the form of turnovers. One of San Antonio's weaknesses exposed during the Conference Finals was a tendency to cough up the rock. The Spurs had at least 15 turnovers in four of the seven games played against the Thunder. In the postseason, the Spurs have a turnover rate of 15.2 percent, which is ranked 11th out of 16 playoff teams. 

Specifically, Spurs guard Stephon Castle had some shaky moments, recording 11, nine, and six turnovers in three different games against the Thunder. 

Forcing miscues from San Antonio will also help New York’s offense, since the Knicks can create transition scoring opportunities. New York thrived in the Conference Finals, scoring on misses and makes against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the postseason, New York is averaging 1.32 points per possession on transition opportunities, per NBA Stats, the No. 1 scoring rate among all playoff teams. That would put less pressure on having to consistently create great looks in the halfcourt.

Paint touches

There’s no better rim protector in the NBA than Wembanyama. He led the NBA in blocks per game during the regular season and is tops in the category during the postseason. 

But the most meaningful indicator of Wembanyama’s impact is how little teams attack the paint when facing the Spurs. In the first two playoff rounds, 41.4 percent of the Thunder’s points were scored in the paint, per NBA Stats. That number dipped to 34.9 percent against San Antonio, which would be last in the NBA during the regular season.

New York has relied heavily on attacking the paint in the playoffs, with 44.4 percent of its points coming near the basket, fourth among all playoff teams. 

Wembanyama and the Spurs will look to limit the interior scoring opportunities, with him defending Josh Hart for much of this series and lurking on the backline to disrupt any drives. Jalen Brunson's ability to pull up from three and midrange is valuable in a series like this.

Can the Knicks pull the 7-footer away from the basket? There’s some possible solutions, such as using Hart as a screener more often, or going to five-out lineups with Landry Shamet or Miles McBride in Hart’s place. 

Paint points in the halfcourt will be a challenge the Knicks have to figure out.

Going to Towns

With Wembanyama expected to be guarding Hart, San Antonio will have a smaller defender on Karl-Anthony Towns for a lot of this series. In New York’s most recent game against the Spurs in early March, Castle defended Towns at the start of the game, and other defenders like Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson checked the big man. 

Towns doesn’t have to score relentlessly like he has in the past. During this playoff run, he’s averaging a modest 16.9 points, the second-lowest scoring numbers of his career. Some of that can be attributed to the high number of blowouts where the Knicks have been able to rest their starters. But Towns has also become more of a distributor, averaging 5.9 assists in 14 playoff contests.

A second-year pro, Castle is a great defender, but he’s listed at 6-foot-6. Towns should be able to find windows to make plays both for himself and his teammates. His scoring, playmaking, and offensive rebounding will be important in this series. 

“Winning the Larry O’Brien is a childhood dream and having a real shot at it, having a chance, a tangible chance at winning it, realizing a dream, it’s a lifetime chance,” Wembanyama said to the NBC crew at the end of Game 7 against the OKC Thunder.

“You never know what’s going to happen again. The day we win it, it’s going to be an amazing day of realization of a dream. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.”

For the past 3 years I have watched almost all Victor Wembanyama’s games in a Spurs uniform. For the most part, and despite the gravity of last year’s DVT, a possibly career-ending condition, Victor’s ascension has matched my wildest dreams. I started to watch his games when he was just 15 and got a silver medal at the U16 Euro Championship with France. This was the beginning of a trend resembling a curse… “the eternal second”. Silver at U16 Euro, silver at U19 Worlds, silver at Paris 2024 Olympics. 

A curse?

In French sports lore, Raymond Poulidor, “The Cycling Legend Who Never Won” was also called the “Eternal Second”. Over a 17-year career, he finished on the podium of the Tour de France an incredible eight times, yet he never once wore the coveted yellow jersey. Despite missing the top step at the Tour, he was a great champion with 189 professional wins, but so often finishing second in major races.

Internally I started to develop a superstition, a fear, that Victor could become the next Poulidor.

This season a shift happened. Despite his calf injury in November, Victor’s ascension started to accelerate. My pre-season predictions for this team, a play-in at worst, and a 6^th seed in the stacked West at best, were blown apart entirely by the team’s run starting February 1^st.  But superstition is a hard thing to shake. With Vic’s obvious rise, I was tempted to write my thoughts, share some basketball analytics with Pounding The Rock, but I was also scared I would be wrong, that I was counting my chickens before they had hatched. So, I kept my thoughts for myself.

Pilgrimage to the Alamo

In February, I finally made the trip to San Antonio. Almost a “childhood dream” of mine. My first time in Texas. I absolutely loved the vibrancy of the city and its people. I was there for the 2026 Western Heritage Parade & Cattle Drive, watching in awe longhorn bulls ridden by local cowboys and cowgirls in San Antonio streets, singing along both TexMex-inspired music and the Scottish marching band. 

That morning, up early due to the jetlag, I also enjoyed a beautiful wander by the River Walk, all by myself, under a winter blue sky. Finally, 2 hours before tip-off, I made my way to the Frost Bank Center, checking numerous times that the ticket I had bought online 5 months before was still in my Ticketmaster app, that it wasn’t a scam and pinching myself that I would, finally, see the Championships banners hanging up in the rafters, see the Spurs homecourt, the Spurs players and Victor Wembanyama.

As I arrived early, I was almost first in line for the security check, and made my way to the main glass doors, upfront, where I could see the Spurs dancing squad warming up and rehearsing. When the doors finally opened, I made my way to section 101, row 9, and the seat closest to the tunnel!

Some players were on the court doing shooting drills with their respective trainer. DeAaron Fox was very impressive from the 3-point line, so fluid. Then Devin Vassell walked just past me, emerging from the tunnel, on his way to the Spurs bench. He is so much thinner in real life than I expected. His muscles are super lean, and he walks with a mix of regal demeanor and nonchalance. Quite the combination!

Finally, Vic arrived and started shooting free throws, a mere 10 meters from me, towering everything around him. Felix Wembanyama arrived too and sat courtside opposite to the bench players. 

This was the second game against the Mavs in 2 days. The Spurs had won in Dallas where both Vic and Cooper were sensational. Although this time was not Cooper Flagg’s best game, I was nonetheless impressed. Very competitive, fluid, good handles and a much better shooting stroke, especially from 3, than I anticipated. 

The star of the night, though, was our very “Stephan WOW Castle”, to qu0te Floyd. A 40-12-12 triple-double masterpiece. You had to be there to feel his energy. His will power. Absolutely incredible. The whole crowd was just pumped up, feeding off Steph’s energy.

Close Encounter Of The Third Kind – Wemby the Alien

During the game, Vic went to one of the gym bikes under the tunnel to keep warm, with Guillaume Alquier by his side. We exchanged a couple of words, in French, but he quickly stopped there and just smiled back, clenched his fist in appreciation of my mentioning of Nanterre, his youth club, but that was it. Vic is Vic. Always 100% focused during a game.

The San Antonio Spurs legacy

After the game, I went back to Downtown San Antonio, enjoyed a nighttime River Walk perambulation. The atmosphere was just so friendly. I was just on cloud nine.

Visiting San Antonio, attending a Spurs game had been a dream of mine for almost 30 years, since Timmy was drafted to play alongside my favorite – at the time – player, David Robinson. Growing up, I had posters of the Admiral covering the wall above my bed. Since then, French players had started to play for the Spurs: Tony Parker, Ian Mahinmi, Nando De Colo (all selected via draft picks) and of course Boris Diaw… making my passion for the Spurs even stronger, more personal. 

But nothing compares to what was coming. In my wildest dreams, I wanted Victor Wembanyama to join the Spurs. The 16^th of May 2023, I was in a meeting, with my cellphone next to me, waiting for the results of the lottery. First. Pick. San. Antonio. Spurs.

I knew then and there. I would have to visit San Antonio. Victor Wembanyama was about to join the best organization possible, not only on paper, but for him, as he is unique and needs to be free to grow and maximize his potential. 

The 2026 NBA Finals

It took only 3 years… And to quote Vic again “You never know what’s going to happen again. The day we win it, it’s going to be an amazing day of realization of a dream. It’s almost like the meaning of my life.” 

And for me, I had to make it happen. I had to visit San Antonio. That’s how you make your dreams come true. You control what is in your control. I planned it, saved some money, and did it.

And these young Spurs, they are going to the 2026 NBA Finals knowing that “You never know what’s going to happen again”, thus you never squander an opportunity in front of you.

I can now go back to my analytics, thinking about every match ups the Finals have to offer.

Vic and the Spurs have won the Western Conference Finals, he is the WCF MVP. 

He is on a path to realization.

The 2026 NBA Finals are set, and in their first return in 27 years, the Knicks seek to get revenge for their last appearance, a five-game loss in 1999 to the San Antonio Spurs. It won’t be the walk in the park the Eastern Conference was, so let’s break down the strategies and adjustments we’re likely to see and predict this year’s eventual champions.

Any series including San Antonio will center around the team's defense, and especially its anchor and star, Victor Wembanyama. The third-year player is living up to the most optimistic fans’ hype, leading his team to the Finals behind 23.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.4 stocks per game.

It’s his presence in the paint that fundamentally changes how teams approach their offense. Players are either too timid to attack the rim around his otherworldly length, or they test it to mixed results, with Wembanyama sometimes even baiting guys by pretending to not see a driver before quickly turning and swatting the ball into the eighth row.

New York has a built-in advantage with its ability to spread the floor with five shooters, but the Spurs will challenge that early by letting Wembanyama hover off Josh Hart. The Knicks have had to switch lineups or hope Hart connects on threes to punish this adjustment, and they’ll have to again.

Until then, Karl-Anthony Towns’ pinch-post creation and flex-action fun won’t be so effective. He’ll get lots of one-on-one opportunities and similar looks he got against Cleveland, and will have to take advantage that way. 

Of course, Jalen Brunson will be pivotal as the Knicks' captain and leader of their offense. His ability to kill teams from the mid-range and pulling up from three will need to be leveraged specifically against Wembanyama, so he has to actively work and cover ground vs. wait in the paint. 

Drop conservatively and Brunson can hurt you with his jumper, play more aggressive coverage and the Spurs get in rotation, Wembanyama gets fatigued. Expect lots of switching and random traps when Wembanyama isn’t guarding the action directly. 

The good news is Brunson will get opportunities to matchup hunt. San Antonio is stocked with positive defenders, but few perimeter standouts and some real targets for Brunson. 

De’Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper, Julian Champagnie and Carter Bryant will be tested in isolation. Stephon Castle likely gets the initial matchup and is the best defender Brunson’s had to face since Dyson Daniels, so how he fares will be crucial, especially if Wembanyama’s mucking up the off-ball stuff.

The other big edge for New York here is its wings. Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby outsize and out-talent San Antonio’s swingmen, each recording a 25+ point game against them this season, and both are playing exceptional offensive ball these Playoffs, so the Knicks will need them to aggressively attack mismatches and the paint.

One concern for the Knicks is getting enough out of their bench. The Spurs aren’t especially deep with their current rotation, but do boast the Sixth Man of the Year plus the explosive Harper.

Meanwhile, New York’s bench was quietly comatose for much of the Cleveland and Philadelphia series outside of Landry Shamet. The Knicks will need big performances out of him, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson (who appears to be playing through a broken pinky) to take advantage of the non-Wembanyama minutes.

Surprisingly the Spurs haven’t been dominant on either side of the glass this postseason, opening the door for the Knicks to win extra possessions here, especially from their wings and guards. Both teams are pretty careful with the ball, so the first to get sloppy with it will be fighting an uphill battle.

It’s not a big edge to bank on, but the Knicks should have the experience and fatigue factors in their corner here. San Antonio has played a couple full-length, physical series now while New York’s coasted, and frankly carried a “do or die” business-only attitude while the young Spurs look genuinely thrilled just to be here.

But those don’t impact the court like the actual basketball does, and San Antonio will need a strong plan of attack for its offense against this stifling New York playoff defense. The Spurs want to get Wembanyama going in the paint to open up their three-point shooters, and the Knicks will try to shut them down like they did their previous postseason foes.

It’s possible Anunoby gets the start on Wembanyama to try to make post positioning difficult, and put Towns on Castle so he can roam and clog the paint. Options to “hide” Brunson are scant, so it’ll likely be Champagnie or Castle if the Hart treatment isn’t working.

Bridges and Hart will likely get the Fox and Devin Vassell assignments. Bridges has been instrumental in shutting down opposing guard play, so if he can cut off many of Fox’s and Harper’s pick-and-rolls it would do wonders to muck up the Spurs offense.

The Knicks can win the series on this end by continually getting stops and getting out in transition, not allowing the Spurs defense to ever get set or get a rhythm. They’ve played with terrific pace thus far, but their opponent likes to go up-and-down too, so it may not be a big advantage like in past series.

Towns and Robinson will get their one-on-one opportunities to guard Wemby and will have to step up. He’s shown he can get muscled out of comfortable positions, but other guys have stepped up, so it will need to be a top-to-bottom effort.

All of San Antonio’s guards have strong creation ability and the shooters to space the floor for them, so they’ll need to be guarded closely and run off the line. They’re also incredibly effective at getting out in transition, so New York will need to control the ball, crash the offensive boards and, most importantly, convert its shots to avoid this.

The last two Spurs series were grind-it-out defensive battles, and this Finals falling into that pattern could be beneficial to them. But it’s hard to shake the feeling the Knicks will have a better chance as the series goes to six and seven games. It’s possible this all comes down to 2-3 close games, but San Antonio’s only 1-3 these playoffs in crunch time, though New York hasn’t had many convincing reps either.

After three grueling rounds, there isn’t much left to discover about either of these teams. We know what they want to do, we know the counters they might employ, we just don't know the ultimate result.

Prediction: Knicks in 6.

Given a day to reflect on how a potential repeat NBA championship got away, league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was still feeling the pain of a Game 7 loss.

His top-seeded Oklahoma City Thundersuffered a stunning 111-103 defeat at home in the Western Conference finals as the San Antonio Spurs advanced to face the New York Knicks for the title.

"I failed at my goal," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve. But I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail and don't get what I want. I look at this no different."

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: “It was a failure. I failed at my goal. I didn't achieve what I wanted to achieve. But through those experiences, I learn the most about myself and make the greatest amount of increases in my career when I fail." pic.twitter.com/xoKTiavlei

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) May 31, 2026

Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points in the season-ending defeat, but the Spurs' defense on him was a key factor in his reduced efficiency in the series. His scoring average and shooting percentages in the series were considerably lower than they were in the regular season, when he won his second consecutive MVP award.

The Thunder, however, weren't completely at full strength during the series. Second-leading scorer Jalen Williams reinjured his hamstring in Game 2 and was limited to just 54 minutes the entire series. And semifinal round star Ajay Mitchell suffered a calf strain in Game 3 that ended his season.

Few owners in professional sports have generated more controversy with less winning than James Dolan.

In more than 25 years running the New York Knicks, he has fired coaches, feuded with legends, lost a sexual harassment verdict, banned lawyers with facial recognition software, ejected a beloved former player in front of a national audience and sued a rival franchise in a move the rest of the NBA largely viewed as bizarre.

Through it all, he has refused to sell, refused to step back and refused to stop inserting himself into decisions that have repeatedly damaged one of the most valuable franchises in sports.

Here's a look at his time with the team:

1994: The purchase

 Cablevision founder Charles Dolan bought out ITT’s half of Madison Square Garden and the Knicks for $650 million in 1997, the family had full control. His son James got the job of running the teams.

2000: Patrick Ewing gone

Patrick Ewing gave the franchise 15 years and never got a ring. When he requested a trade, the Knicks sent him to Seattle in a 12-player deal without a proper sendoff. He spent two decades outside before the current front office brought him back as a basketball ambassador.

2003: Isiah Thomas

Dolan hired Isiah Thomas, freshly fired by Indiana with no front office experience, as president of basketball operations.

2005-2006: Larry Brown

Thomas hired Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown on a five-year, $50 million deal, which was the richest coaching contract in NBA history. It fell apart quickly as Brown openly feuded with Stephon Marbury, the team went 23-59 and Brown was gone after one season.

2007: Sexual harassment verdict

Former Knicks executive Anucha Brown Sanders sued Thomas, MSG and Dolan, alleging Thomas called her a “bitch” and a “ho” and made unwanted advances. A jury believed her and awarded her a settlement worth approximately $11.6 million.

Then NBA Commissioner David Stern said that going to trial rather than settling “was not a model of intelligent management.”

Eight years later, on HBO, James Dolan said he still thought Brown made it up.

2008: End of the Thomas error

Four-plus seasons, zero playoff wins, one big sexual harassment settlement and Thomas was fired.

Dolan, however, shockingly re-hired Thomas to run the WNBA’s Liberty.

When the buzzer sounded on the Spurs’ 111-103 Western Conference finals Game 7 victory over the Thunder, a new king of the conference was crowned.

And the series, which was the first Western Conference finals to go seven games in eight years, showcased how far behind the Lakers and the rest of the conference teams are in competing against the Spurs and Thunder.

For the Lakers, the gap was already evident. 

They lost all four regular-season matchups to the Thunder with an average margin of defeat of 29.3 points per game. And in the playoffs, albeit without superstar guard Luka Doncic, they suffered a four-game sweep with an average margin of defeat of 16 points per game.

The Lakers went 1-3 against the Spurs during the regular season with an average margin of defeat of 13.8 in those matchups. The gap between the teams widened as the Spurs improved throughout the season. 

Those are the teams the Lakers will need to overcome if they’re going to compete in the West and contend for an NBA title.

What lessons can the Lakers learn from the Western Conference finals to help close the gap?

It starts with adding more depth to the roster. 

Many circumstances determine the success of a season for players and teams. 

Nothing should be taken away from the Spurs, who earned their spot in the NBA Finals for a matchup against the Knicks. 

The Thunder played without Jalen Williams, a 2025 All-NBA third-team honoree and All-Star, and Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City’s fourth-leading scorer during the regular season and second-leading scorer during the playoffs, for most of the Western Conference finals. 

Despite those absences, the Thunder pushed the series to seven games behind the strength of their depth. Even with Williams and Mitchell injured, OKC was competitive and trusted eight to nine players to consistently contribute in a deep playoff run. 

And that’s not even counting Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe, both of whom were in the Thunder’s rotation during their run to the 2025 NBA Finals.

The Spurs don’t have the same depth as the Thunder but still could go 10 or 11 deep regularly depending on the matchup.

Even with the context of Doncic being sidelined for all of the playoffs, the Lakers usually had seven or eight players who could be relied upon to contribute.

The Thunder and Spurs have their own unique advantages that’ve allowed them to be as deep as they are. 

Williams and Chet Holmgren are All-NBA players on the final seasons of their rookie-scale deals. 

Three of the Spurs’ top scorers during the playoffs (Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper) are also on rookie-scale contracts and will be for next season, too. 

One way for the Lakers to make progress closing the gap this offseason between them and the top conference teams is by adding quality depth to their roster. 

Rob Pelinka, Lakers president of basketball operations and general manager, addressed this need after his team’s season ended.

“If you look around the playoffs right now, depth is really important — athleticism and youth,” Pelinka said. “We have a lot of components of that on our roster, but we need to add to it.”

The athleticism and youth components were advantages the Spurs had, and took advantage of, against the Thunder. 

The Spurs averaged 10 more fast-break points than the Thunder during the Western Conference finals. 

Pace naturally slows during the playoffs, but being opportunistic with easier scoring opportunities was key for the Spurs.

Just as impressive, the Spurs held the Thunder to 7.2 fast-break points per game after OKC averaged 15 fast-break points in the second-round series against the Lakers, who averaged eight per game. 

Some of this goes back to the Spurs taking better care of the ball against the Thunder compared with the Lakers, which limited OKC’s transition opportunities. But the Spurs’ athleticism and youth made it easier for them to keep up with the Thunder.

These are the types of margins that gave the Spurs the edge over the Thunder.

And the same ones the Lakers need to improve on to have any shot of competing for a title in 2026-27.

The NBA will have a unique champion for the eighth straight year. The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks are squaring off in a 2026 NBA Finals matchup no one could have seen coming. Before this stretch, the league had never had more than six consecutive unique champions, which happened from 1975-1980. No team has won multiple titles over the last eight years, and no team has even repeated as a conference champion since the 2019 Golden State Warriors.

Why is there so much parity in the NBA right now? It’s mostly a combination of salary cap changes and injuries. The Oklahoma City Thunder seemed primed for a dynasty when they won the championship a year ago, but the Spurs beat them in a fantastic Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals with their second and third best creators out in Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell.

The NBA is left with a rematch of the 1999 Finals, which the Spurs won in five games over New York. It’s going to be incredible watching Victor Wembanyama chase his first championship in Madison Square Garden against a Knicks fanbase desperate for their first championship since 1973. Let’s preview the series from both sides and make a championship pick.

The case for the Knicks

The Knicks just played the best 11-game stretch in league history — and somehow that’s not an exaggeration. This team is red hot right now, and they’re playing with full belief that they can deliver New York its first NBA championship since 1973.

The Spurs haven’t faced a true stretch five who can pull Wembanyama away from the basket on this playoff run. Enter Karl-Anthony Towns, the best three-point shooting center of all-time, who has suddenly been unlocked as the best version of himself over the last six weeks. Towns feels like the most important player in the series for New York. He’s a threat to score 25+ feet away from the basket, and that could potentially take Wemby away from defending the paint. The Spurs can try to stick Wembanyama on Josh Hart or another Knick, but that will create some problems for San Antonio, too.

It’s easy to discount Jalen Brunson, but he’s led his team to championships in high school and in college, and consistently rises to the occasion in the biggest moments. While the Spurs defended another mid-range shooter in Gilgeous-Alexander well in the West Finals, it’s worth noting that Brunson has a much higher three-point volume, taking 35.8 percent of his field goals from deep, compared to 22.6 for SGA. Brunson’s pull-up three ball will have to be a weapon in this series. The fact that he’s not much of a rim attacker means Wembanyama needs to come out higher on the floor when he’s not getting spaced out of the play by Towns. For as good as the Spurs’ defense is, Brunson has shown that he has so many counters to effectively get off his offense.

I’m fascinated to see how often and how effectively Anunoby defends Wembanyama. It feels like the best Wemby defenders are long and strong wings who are quick enough to neutralize him off the bounce, and Anunoby might be the best example of such a defender. Turning Wemby into a shooter is in the Knicks’ best interest, so if Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson can keep him out of deep post position, that’s a good start for a winning recipe.

The Knicks are also the much fresher team. While San Antonio just played a physically and emotionally draining 7-game series in the West, the Knicks have been chilling at home after consecutive sweeps. Sure the Knicks might be a little rusty at the start of Game 1, but that rest advantage will carry over through the remainder of the series.

It certainly feels like the Knicks have more offensive firepower than San Antonio. Brunson and Towns is an elite scoring duo, and Mikal Bridges and Anunoby can each carry the offense for a game or two themselves. De’Aaron Fox hasn’t been at his best for the Spurs basically the whole season, and asking Dylan Harper to immediately ascend to a true No. 2 option as a 20-year-old is a lot. The Knicks just have so much scoring punch in their eight-man rotation, and it’s conceivable that not even Wembanyama can slow them down.

Madison Square Garden is about to turn into one of the greatest environments in NBA Finals history. Knicks fans are craving a championship, and the team will be ready.

The case for the Spurs

It feels like Victor Wembanyama ascended to best player in the world status during the Western Conference Finals, which is a terrifying thought considering he’s only 22 years old and still has plenty of room to grow as a player. When he’s really locked in, Wemby looks like a 7’5 Kevin Durant capable of self-creating step-back threes while also being a dominant a rim runner and arguably the most impactful defender in NBA history.

How will the Knicks guard Wembanyama? It’s a question that could define the series. New York only has two 7-footers on the roster with Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, but Robinson recently suffered a broken pinky that should linger into the Finals. New York can also use OG Anunoby to guard Wembanyama, and that might be their best matchup. For as long and strong as Anunoby is, Wemby is still going to be able to shoot over the top of him whenever he wants to. If the French superstar gets hot as a jump shooter or from floater range, the Spurs will immediately have an advantage New York can’t neuter. Even if Anunoby is effective for stretches, the Knicks will still need other defenders to soak up minutes against him, and their options are pretty limited.

Wemby’s impact is even bigger on defense, especially with so many good perimeter defenders in front of him. Stephon Castle did an outstanding job on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with Wemby lurking behind him, and that same duo will cause plenty of problems for Jalen Brunson. Like SGA, Brunson takes a lot of his shots from mid-range, which Wemby’s length can help evaporate. Brunson took 51% percent of his field goal attempts from mid-range this season, per Cleaning the Glass. The Spurs feel uniquely equipped to defend that kind of superstar shot profile.

The Spurs’ role players are also fully locked in right now. Julian Champagnie had a breakout conference finals series with multiple 20-point games and consistently good rebounding. Devin Vassell is playing the best ball of his career. Dylan Harper is already taking over playoff games at times at 20 years old. Luke Kornet is one of the league’s better backup centers, and could rebound from a tough matchup vs. the Thunder.

San Antonio’s defense will really be in the spotlight for this matchup. The Knicks’ offensive rating has jumped from 118.7 in the regular season to 123.3 in the playoffs, by far the best mark in the postseason. Meanwhile, San Antonio’s defensive rating has gone from 110.4 in the regular season (No. 3 overall) to 104.4 in the playoffs (second-best behind the Knicks). The Spurs’ defense feels built for the playoffs with more contact allowed on the perimeter and Wembanyama being almost adjustment-proof. If the Spurs can limit New York’s three-point attempts, Wemby can take care of the rest inside.

In what feels like a pretty even matchup, the tiebreaker should go to the team with the best player. That’s Wembanyama.

Prediction: Spurs in 7

This truly feels like a toss up to me, but I’m going with San Antonio in seven for a few reasons.

The Knicks’ romp through the East has been incredibly impressive, but they haven’t seen anything like the Spurs. The Atlanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Cleveland Cavaliers are all two steps below San Antonio at least. I’m not sure if the Knicks’ hot three-point shooting is sustainable. Landry Shamet just shot 91.7 percent from three in the Eastern Conference Finals (not a typo). Is that really going to happen again? The Knicks have plenty of shooters on the floor at all times, but the windows disappear a lot quicker when someone like Wembanyama is closing out on you.

I was tempted to go Knicks in six here. New York clearly has a path to victory, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if they routed the Spurs the same way they’ve routed everyone else in their way on this playoff run.

If the Spurs can extend the series to seven, they will get the final game on their home floor. Weird things can happen in a Game 7, and I typically prefer the team with the best overall player. Wembanyama already slayed the biggest challenger in the league in his first playoff run. I think he’s ready to win a championship.

The family of a young San Antonio Spurs fan declared brain-dead after falling from a truck during a post-game celebration said they aren’t giving up hope yet as the teen is still “fighting for his life.”

Jose Luis Rodriguez III, known to loved ones as Joey, suffered a catastrophic head injury and has been in the hospital since Thursday’s accident following the Spurs’ Conference Finals win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to force a game seven.

“I believe in God, and I believe in miracles. I’m trying to hold on for my son, my daughter-in-law, and the rest of the family,” Rodriguez’s paternal grandmother told KSAT as she asked the city to pray for her grandson.

Rodriguez was declared brain dead by doctors after he landed on his head during wild celebrations following the Spurs’ win, which tied the Western Conference finals with the Thunder at 3-3.

The teenager was sitting on the passenger-side window of the vehicle when it hit the curb, and he fell and struck the sidewalk.

“He left blood all over the street,” Rodriguez’s aunt, Yvonne Hudson, told the San Antonio Express-News.

Initially, his parents hadn’t allowed him to take part in the honking celebration on San Antonio’s south side because of the “nonsense” happening on the streets, Hudson added.

But when Rodriguez said a friend’s parent would go with them, they agreed, although in the end, the teenager went solely with pals, Hudson said.

Friends took Rodriguez to a nearby clinic, where he had no pulse for eight minutes before he was transferred to a local trauma center due to the severity of his injuries.

Rodriguez’s family said he is “fighting for his life,” and they are holding out hopes for a recovery.

His grandmother said the teenager’s organs are still functioning despite his critical head injuries.

Hudson said when a family member touched the teen’s foot, his knee twitched, giving them hope, although doctors told them it was just a spinal reflex, not a sign of brain activity.

Police in San Antonio have urged fans to stay safe during celebrations for the playoffs, with rowdy rolling street parties becoming a daily occurrence.

The local tradition dates back to the Spurs’ 1999 NBA title run, and sees thousands of fans routinely fill the streets hanging outside of vehicles, parading on bikes, and even on horses.

“We encourage everyone celebrating to follow traffic laws, stay inside your vehicles, and follow directions from the officers who are there to keep everyone safe,” the San Antonio Police Department said in a statement.

The Spurs went on to complete the turnaround against the Thunder on Saturday, winning the Western Conference title — and setting up an NBA Finals showdown with the Knicks.

Ahead of the start of the finals on Wednesday, even Spurs star Dylan Harper used a news conference to urge fans to behave responsibly.

“I love y’all. Be safe out there in San Antonio,” he said. “I understand y’all are excited, but you got to be safe out there.”

As point guards coming out of a Kelvin Sampson-led program tend to do, Kingston Flemings, of the University of Houston, will come into the NBA with more than one trick in his bag. Playing under Sampson in his only year in the college game is perhaps another advantage he has over the bevy of attractive guard prospects invading the NBA in 2026.

Many recent mock drafts have Flemings going off the board at the seventh pick, to the Sacramento Kings. One recent mock, which should interest Dallas Mavericks fans, has Flemings falling all the way past Dallas at No. 9 to the Milwaukee Bucks at the 10th overall pick, with Dallas opting to trade the ninth pick and Kyrie Irving to the Charlotte Hornets for LaMelo Ball and the 14th and 18th overall picks. God, speculation is fun, isn’t it?

Flemings showed himself to be effective in the halfcourt, with an ability to dissect the opposing defense, but he’s also an elite downhill driver of the ball, creating space with both physicality and speed. Then there’s the shooting. Flemings shot nearly 39% from 3-point range for Houston as a freshman, but was much better off the catch than he was off the dribble.

The basics

Flemings was born in Newport News, Va., but was raised in San Antonio. He was named the Gatorade Texas Player of the Year during his senior season at Brennan High School, as well as a Naismith All-American. Despite all that, he wasn’t considered a certain one-and-done prospect entering his freshman season at Houston, but he soon proved to be one.

Among the most notable moments in his short college career was a 42-point explosion against Texas Tech, when he set a new high-scoring mark for a freshman at Houston. He shoots. He creates. He defends. You must if Sampson is going to trust you with the ball in your hands as a freshman, and Sampson did trust Flemings, to the tune of a 26% usage rate.

He creates his best offensive possessions when he gets into ball screens. He’s just a whiz at calculating advantageous matchups and executing as soon as the opportunity presents itself. His first step is lethal.

Strengths

That lethal first step is followed by a will to get to the bucket nearly unrivaled in the college game. He did slow down a bit in terms of efficiency at the rim as the season went along and the competition got tighter and tighter, but don’t discount his own explanation of part of his calculus when getting to the rim.

“We wanted to get the ball on the rim,” Flemings told NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor on a recent appearance on his Kevin O’Connor Show podcast. “Some of that is strategic when you have guys crashing. Some of it may have been a slight lack of focus, but part of it was also wanting to get the ball on the rim for those guys to go get it.”

Flemings actually moves the defense with his dribble, rather than simply trying to get past his man. You have to account for his speed at all times, and the advantages it creates can really fuel an NBA offense. It’s his elite athleticism that makes him special. Flemings jumps out of the gym with a 40.5-inch max vertical, and his sprint speed and agility in the lane separate him from the crowd.

Defensively, Flemings has a better foundation than almost every other freshman lead guard in the college game. He generates steals, pressures the ball, and plays with a high degree of competitiveness. The same cannot be said of all guards floating in the 7-10 range of NBA draft boards.

Concerns

Do his measurements from the NBA Draft Combine change his defensive ceiling in the NBA, though?

Flemings measures just 6-foot-2 and 1/2 without shoes, and his wingspan is just shy of 6-foot-4. He’s slight, at 183 pounds. Will he get pushed around in the NBA?

The question on his way to the rack in the NBA will be contact. The guards he’ll be facing are much bigger now. Will his physicality be enough on this level to make him as effective in getting to the bucket as he was in college?

He told O’Connor, to that end, that he was working hard on developing his floater and runner game in his time off after the college season. He realizes there are things he needs to work on, and above all else, this is a 19-year-old kid who hates losing.

Fit with the Mavericks

I’d be surprised if the Mavericks find themselves in a position where drafting Flemings is an option, but stranger things have happened. I believe he’d be a much better fit with the team than, say Darius Acuff Jr., and even a better fit than Mikel Brown Jr.

Flemings has a level of polish to his game at the tender age of 19 that few prospects possess. Thank Sampson and his rocket-launching legs for that. His live-dribble playmaking and his net-positive status on the defensive end would make him a near-perfect fit.

I also think he’s going to be able to inspire a little more confidence from 3-point range in the NBA than he did in college, which doesn’t mean his shooting was a problem with Houston. He just wasn’t a volume guy and he wasn’t that great shooting off the dribble.

“I’ve been working on getting to the same shot pocket [whether shooting off the dribble or off the catch],” Flemings told O’Connor. “I’m kind of shooting it wherever my dribble is [in film from college], so I’m working on getting to same shot pocket and getting more consistent.

“In the NBA, people want to shoot a lot more threes, so I’m going to shoot more threes. In college, we did what we needed to do to win.”

NBA comparison

In the recent conversation with O’Connor, Flemings listed Tyrese Maxey and De’Aaron Fox as two players he emulates. They’re not the biggest dudes either, but they have a nose for the bucket, and their 3-point shot has come along in the professional game, much like Flemings will look to do as more form the perimeter is asked of him starting next season.

Ajay Mitchell and Coby White may also come to mind. Even if he doesn’t become an elite lead guard, he could still be a microwave scoring engine like one of these guys.